Life Settlement Value Calculator

A life settlement is the sale of an existing life insurance policy to a third-party investor for more than its cash surrender value but less than its full death benefit, and this calculator estimates where that offer is likely to land. Net Death Benefit is Policy Face Value minus Remaining Premiums (Annual Premium multiplied by the years remaining to Life Expectancy) -- the payout an investor would ultimately collect, net of the premiums they'd still need to pay to keep the policy active. Estimated Settlement Value takes the larger of two figures: 110% of Cash Surrender Value (a floor, since a settlement should always beat simply surrendering the policy to the insurer) or a discounted-value calculation that factors in Life Expectancy and Health Rating. Health Rating is a shorthand for how confident an investor is in when they'll receive the payout: poorer health means a shorter expected holding period and therefore a higher settlement value, while good health stretches out the wait and the associated premium burden, which lowers it.

Settlement as % of Face Value benchmarks the result against the policy's death benefit -- industry estimates commonly cite a typical range of roughly 20-40% of face value for qualifying policies, though actual offers vary widely by insurer, market conditions, and buyer. The line chart shows how the estimated settlement would change across a range of life expectancies at the same face value and health rating, since shorter projected life expectancy is one of the biggest single drivers of a higher settlement offer. This calculator produces a planning estimate only -- real life settlement offers come from licensed buyers after underwriting review and should always be compared side by side with the policy's actual cash surrender value before deciding whether to sell.